


The Unfix'd Daemon: Supplementary Visual Materials

by EllynNeverSweet



Series: Certain Arts and Allurements [4]
Category: His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman, Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
Genre: Art, Character Portraits, Gen, I'm an art nerd
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-01
Updated: 2019-10-01
Packaged: 2020-11-16 14:44:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20846246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EllynNeverSweet/pseuds/EllynNeverSweet
Summary: Illustration(s) and character portraits forCertain Arts and Allurements,myPride and Prejudice/His Dark Materials/Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrellcrossover. Currently featuring a group portrait of the Bennet sisters and their daemons. May feature some of the pictures described inThe Unfix'd Daemonat a future point.Designed as a stand-alone — you don't need to have readThe Unfix'd Daemon pt 1to read this.





	The Unfix'd Daemon: Supplementary Visual Materials

_The Miss Bennets_

Circa 1808-10, gifted in 1890 to the Kent Regional Gallery by Mr C Collins.

Believed to be a portrait of the children of Mr Thomas Bennet esq., an occasional pamphlet author and otherwise obscure gentleman of the 18th-19th century. From left to right: Mary Bennet (seated), Lydia Bennet, Elizabeth Bennet, Jane Bennet and Catherine Bennet (kneeling).

Probably intended for display in the home rather than public exhibition. Although no date is listed on the painting or frame, this portrait is believed to date from the first decade of the 19th century. The clothing is roughly indicative of the extreme simplicity fashionable at this time, although some of the more outlandish elements worn by the older sitters are probably costumes intended to evoke classical imagery, rather than everyday pieces of wardrobe. 

The daemons of the two younger sitters are represented in a style typical of pre-photographic portraiture, as white 'psyche' butterfly daemons. This was probably not a favoured shape of either sitter, or even one taken during the course of the painting's creation, but rather should be seen as indicative that both girls had unsettled daemons and were still children in the eyes of society. The older sisters are presented with what are presumably the fixed adult shapes of their daemons: a short-eared owl, endemic to most of Europe in this period and still common today, probably a seen in the wild by the sitter, a gyrfalcon, more unusual but still within its natural range, and an exotic hyacinth macaw. This was a species most Europeans would have been only dimly aware of, if they knew of its existence at all. A few individuals are thought to have been in England during the early 19th century, probably as a result of colonial specimen trading between wartime allies Portugal and England. The presence of such a daemon suggests both that the family almost certainly participated in the craze for taking pubescent children to visit menageries and exhibitions for exposure to exotic species, and that they had the wealth and social clout to see what must have been a very rare creature at the time. 

**Author's Note:**

> This started out as a theoretically quick practice study of some 19th century portrait artists and ended up consuming my fanwork time for an embarrassingly long period. WIP nonsense was documented over at my tumblr. I will probably do the same with any future art for this series, so feel free to hit me up over at ellynneversweet.tumblr.com.


End file.
